CC SR 20210406 J - Assembly Joint Resolution (AJR) No 2 Letter of Support
RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 04/06/2021
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Consent Calendar
AGENDA TITLE:
Consideration and possible action to authorize the Mayor to sign a letter in support of
Assembly Joint Resolution (AJR) No. 2.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Authorize the Mayor to sign a letter in support of AJR No. 2, which calls on
Congress and the EPA to take action on the rediscovered DDT waste site off the
coast of Catalina Island.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Megan Barnes, Senior Administrative Analyst
REVIEWED BY: Karina Bañales, Deputy City Manager
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. Draft letter in support of AJR No. 2 (page A-1)
B. Text of AJR No. 2 (as introduced December 7, 2020) (page B-1)
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
In October 2020, the Los Angeles Times reported that the seafloor off the coast of
Catalina Island may be scattered with as many as 500,000 barrels of waste containing
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) produced by the South Bay-based Montrose
Chemical Corporation from 1947 to 1961. DDT is a toxic pesticide that was later banned
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) due to its harmful effects on wildlife
and humans. Although the barrel dumping activity was not unknown to government
agencies that went on to take legal action against Montrose for causing environmental
contamination, it was not the focus of a $140 million settlement with the chemical
maker.
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More background on this issue is available in the March 2, 2021 staff report:
https://rpv.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=5&clip_id=3870&meta_id=91557
In the months since the Los Angeles Times investigation was published , environmental
organizations and elected officials, including the City Council, have called for the federal
government to take action to assess the true extent of the barrel dumping and
contamination and its effects on the ecosystem.
At the request of Senator Dianne Feinstein, UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of
Oceanography and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with
assistance from the Department of Defense, UC Santa Barbara and other partners,
recently launched a mission to map 50,000 acres of the ocean floor near Catalina Island
to identify the precise location, condition and number of barrels. This is the first step
toward understanding the scope and scale of the problem in order to develop solutions
to resolve it.
Additionally, Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell of Long Beach has introduced
legislation on this issue. Assembly Joint Resolution No. 2 calls on Congress and the
EPA to take action on the rediscovered DDT waste site (Attachment B). Joint
resolutions express the Legislature's opinion about a matter within the jurisdiction of the
federal government, which is forwarded to Congress for its information .
AJR No. 2 is set for hearing in the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and
Toxic Materials on April 21.
Staff has prepared a draft letter in support of AJR No. 2 for the City Council’s
consideration (Attachment A). Given the City Council’s and residents’ interest in this
issue, Staff recommends the City Council authorize the Mayor to sign the letter as
drafted, or with revisions.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative action s are available
for the City Council’s consideration:
1. Identify revised language to add to the letter.
2. Do not authorize the Mayor to sign the letter.
3. Take other action as deemed appropriate by the City Council.
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April 6, 2021 Via Email
The Honorable Patrick O’Donnell
California State Assembly
State Capitol, Rm. 4001
Sacramento, CA 95814
SUBJECT: Notice of Support for AJR No. 2
Dear Assemblymember O’Donnell,
The City of Rancho Palos Verdes supports AJR No. 2, which calls on Congress and the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take action on the re-discovered DDT waste
site off the north coast of Catalina Island.
We recently shared our concerns about the true extent of environmental damage
caused by offshore DDT dumping by the Montrose Chemical Corporation in a letter with
you and other legislators. This issue is of high importance to our community. A recent
survey of Rancho Palos Verdes residents found that the impacts of chemical dumping in
our coastal waters was the second most concerning local environmental issue among
respondents after ocean and beach pollution. Health of marine life was ranked th e
fourth most concerning local environmental issue by respondents.
While the City is pleased that efforts are underway to identify the precise location,
condition and number of barrels of DDT-laden waste, this is only the first step in
addressing the untold harm done to our ecosystem by this long-hidden hazard. We
must hold the federal government accountable to make this issue a high priority and to
identify and implement effective long-term solutions.
For these reasons, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes supports AJR No. 2.
Sincerely,
Eric Alegria
Mayor
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cc: Assemblymember Bill Quirk, Chair, Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials
Committee
Michael Regan, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Deborah Jordan, Deputy Regional Administrator, EPA Region 9
Radhika Fox, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Officer of Water
Gina Raimondo, Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce
Brenda Mallory, Nominee to be Chair of the White House Council on
Environmental Quality
Benjamin Friedman, Acting Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Karen Hyun, Chief of Staff, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Lawrence Yee, Chair, Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board
Steve Padilla, Chair, California Coastal Commission
Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Senator, California
Alex Padilla, U.S. Senator, California
Ted Lieu, U.S. Representative, 33rd Congressional District
Alan Lowenthal, U.S. Representative, 47th Congressional District
Nanette Barragán, U.S. Representative, 44th Congressional District
Ben Allen, Senator, 26th State Senate District
Steven Bradford, Senator, 35th State Senate District
Al Muratsuchi, Assembly Member, 66th Assembly District
Janice Hahn, L.A. County Supervisor, 4th District
Joe Buscaino, L.A. City Councilmember, 15th District
Ann Marshall, Mayor, City of Avalon
Shelley Luce, President and CEO, Heal the Bay
Bruce Reznik, Executive Director, LA Waterkeeper
Tom Ford, CEO, The Bay Foundation
Rancho Palos Verdes City Council
Ara Mihranian, City Manager
Karina Bañales, Deputy City Manager
A-2
california legislature—2021–22 regular session
Assembly Joint Resolution No. 2
Introduced by Assembly Member O’Donnell
December 7, 2020
Assembly Joint Resolution No. 2—Relative to coastal and marine
waters.
legislative counsel’s digest
AJR 2, as introduced, O’Donnell. Coastal and marine waters: Santa
Catalina Island: dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane.
This measure would request that the Congress of the United States
and the United States Environmental Protection Agency take all
measures necessary to prevent further damage to California’s citizens,
wildlife, and natural resources by the dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane
waste dumped in the waters near Santa Catalina Island.
Fiscal committee: no.
line 1 WHEREAS, California’s coastal and marine waters are among
line 2 the state’s most precious resources and their conservation is
line 3 essential to the preservation of both marine wildlife and
line 4 California’s thriving ocean economy, including fishing, tourism,
line 5 commerce, and recreation sectors; and
line 6 WHEREAS, Santa Catalina Island and its surrounding waters
line 7 provide habitats for a variety of marine creatures, including mantis
line 8 shrimp, horn and leopard sharks, moray eels, and several species
line 9 of sea birds; and
line 10 WHEREAS, Santa Catalina Island also serves as a key part of
line 11 Southern California’s ocean tourism economy, generating over
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B-1
line 1 one hundred sixty million dollars ($160,000,000) in economic
line 2 activity in 2016 and receiving over 1,000,000 visitors in 2019; and
line 3 WHEREAS, Despite critical protections provided by the federal
line 4 Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (Public
line 5 Law 92-532), the dumping of hazardous material in ocean waters
line 6 before the implementation of that act continues to threaten the
line 7 health of California’s citizens and wildlife to this day; and
line 8 WHEREAS, The rediscovered dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane
line 9 (DDT) waste dumping site off the north coast of Santa Catalina
line 10 Island represents a significant threat to the health of marine life in
line 11 those waters and all animals in the food chain dependent on that
line 12 marine life; and
line 13 WHEREAS, The threat posed by these contaminants to the
line 14 ecosystems on and around Santa Catalina Island also constitutes
line 15 a threat to the ocean economy of the island and California, which
line 16 depends on the continued health of marine life and safety of those
line 17 experiencing California’s waters; and
line 18 WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon both the state and federal
line 19 government to ensure these precious natural resources are preserved
line 20 for future generations and protected from further damage by past
line 21 ecological mistakes; now, therefore, be it
line 22 Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
line 23 California, jointly, That the Legislature requests that the Congress
line 24 of the United States and the United States Environmental Protection
line 25 Agency take all measures necessary to prevent further damage to
line 26 California’s citizens, wildlife, and natural resources by the DDT
line 27 waste dumped in the waters near Santa Catalina Island; and be it
line 28 further
line 29 Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
line 30 of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
line 31 States, to the Speaker of the United States House of
line 32 Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate,
line 33 to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress
line 34 of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.
O
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— 2 — AJR 2 B-2